Products of the Year

Stereophile's Products of 1994 Digital Source of 1994

Digital Source of 1994:

Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 D/A processor ($4695; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.16 No.12, December 1993, & Vol.17 No.1, January 1994; and Jonathan Scull, Vol.17 No.4, April 1994 Review)

"From the sublime to the ridiculous," I thought as I counted the votes in this category, the nominees ranging from the $259 Audio Alchemy DAC-in-the-Box to the mighty Mark Levinson No.30.5 at a hair under $16,000. (I've used both in my system; yes, the '30.5 does sound better—a lot better!) But it was the new Canadian kid on the digital block, Sonic Frontiers' SFD-2 D/A processor, that got the nod from the Stereophile sages.

Featuring the well-respected UltraAnalog D20400A DAC modules, coupled with UltraAnalog's low-jitter AES20 data receiver module and all-tube circuitry, the SFD-2 should only be used in its balanced mode, which sounds significantly more musical, decided the magazine's matriculate mavens. "I'll cut to the chase: The SFD-2's musical performance was absolutely stunning by any standard," declared Robert Harley in his original review, enthusing over the clarity and lack of grain in the SFD-2's treble and the power, extension, and "musical rightness" of the unit's low frequencies. "Center-of-the-earth solidity," he added.

Jonathan Scull, too, found much to admire in the sound of the Sonic Frontiers, mentioning its chunky, meaty deep bass, lively upper midrange, and the separation and air typical of its soundstage. I find the Mark Levinson No.30.5 to have just a wee bit more refinement to its presentation compared with the more forward-balanced Sonic Frontiers, but hey, look at the difference in price. The SFD-2 is within the reach of real people—which, I suspect, gave it the edge in the votes. And rightly so!

Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Accuphase DP-65 CD player ($5995; reviewed by Thomas J. Norton, Vol.17 No.10, October 1994)
Audio Alchemy DAC-in-the-Box D/A processor ($259; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.17 No.3, March 1994)
Linn Karik/Numerik CD player ($5790; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.15 No.1, January 1992, & Vol.17 No.10, October 1994 Review)
Mark Levinson No.30.5 D/A processor ($15,950; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.17 No.10, October 1994 Review)
PS Audio Lambda CD transport ($1795; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.16 Nos.10 & 11, October & November 1993, & Vol.17 No.3, March 1994 Review)
Theta Data Basic CD transport ($1750; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.17 No.3, March 1994 Review)

COMMENTS
Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 14, 2019 - 1:05pm

Hip hip hooray ....... The links are working :-) .........

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on November 14, 2019 - 3:12pm

Nicely done.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 14, 2019 - 4:20pm

Looks like we finally have a new technical editor who knows what he is doing ....... May be he is a new member of the Stereophile staff? :-) .........

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on November 14, 2019 - 4:28pm

I think that the Sennheiser HD580 headphones could have been a good choice, now a true classic and still desirable, and the Grandmother of the HD580 Jubilee, HD600, HD650, and some more recent additions from Sennheiser and MassDrop.

https://www.stereophile.com/headphones/1294senn/index.html

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 14, 2019 - 4:47pm

Look at the measurements of Sennheiser HD-580 on Inner/Fidelity website ........ Not that great in bass frequency below 100 Hz :-) .........

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on November 14, 2019 - 7:07pm

I would not judge them in retrospect against modern alternatives. Headphones have gotten better. A family of headphones that started with the HD580 remains very popular, and seems to have seen a new resurgence in popularity at MassDrop.

There were other headphones available in 1994. Some had better bass, but that came in combination with a different set of shortcomings. With the Sennheiser HD580, to me the errors seemed to be errors of omission, and those errors seemed to be more easily overlooked with the music I prefer. So I bought a pair in mid/late 1990s, very much enjoyed thousands of hours of listening through them, and my opinion is likely biased by that positive experience.

I would suggest that if somebody wants to listen to music heavy with synthetic bass, various genres spanning from 1970's disco music though the various follow-on genres that over-utilized subwoofers, then they should probably look elsewhere. I prefer other music.

For jazz and classical and blues, for most of the music recorded before disco, and for a lot of music that has been recorded since, I think that the original HD580 was a fine choice, and the original HD580 Jubilee Edition and HD600 might be better choices.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on November 15, 2019 - 4:32am
JRT wrote:
I think he should have chosen the Sennheiser HD580 headphones. https://www.stereophile.com/headphones/1294senn/index.html

The Sennheisers weren't reviewed until December 1994 so weren't eligible for the 1994 awards. As it says in the foreword, "To be a contender, a product had to have been reported on in Stereophile between the November 1993 and October 1994 issues."

John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 14, 2019 - 4:39pm

I would have chosen the Dunlavy SC-IV as the Editor's choice ........ Excellent engineering :-) .........

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on November 15, 2019 - 3:47am

John Dunlavy extracted some very good performance from the set of inexpensive Vifa drivers that he used in the SC-IV. He upgraded the woofers to ScanSpeak in a later variant. His crossovers were well developed and were far from being over-simplified.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on November 14, 2019 - 8:00pm

Your Dunlavys might have been good but the little Monitors are still in Production and still outstanding.

What ever happened to Dunlavy ?

Tony in Venice

ps. these guys were reviewing with Krell Amplification, doesn't Krell make everything sound wonderful ?

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 15, 2019 - 7:01am

AFAIK, Dunlavy designed the Duntech Sovereign loud speakers ....... Duntech still lists them as in production on their website ........ I don't know what happened to Dunlavy :-) .......

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on November 15, 2019 - 7:20am
Bogolu Haranath wrote:
I don't know what happened to Dunlavy

John Dunlavy passed away in 2007 at the age of 78. In poor health, he had sold the Dunlavy company at the end of 2001 to pro-lighting company Wybron. I interviewed John in 1996: see www.stereophile.com/interviews/163/index.html.

The new owners of Dunlavy loudspeakers shut it down in November 2002: see www.stereophile.com/news/11492/index.html.

John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 15, 2019 - 7:40am

May be Stereophile could review one of the new Duntech speaker models ....... Sovereign may be too big ....... Duntech Marquis seems to be the right size :-) ........

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on November 15, 2019 - 7:59am
Bogolu Haranath wrote:
May be Stereophile could review one of the new Duntech speaker models ...

That would be up to Jim Austin, but as far as I am aware, Duntech loudspeakers are not currently distributed in the USA, though some mastering studios use them.

John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 15, 2019 - 8:35am

Can we bribe Jim Austin with a bottle of Tennessee Honey? ........ Just kidding :-) ........

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on November 15, 2019 - 11:42am

Pose or ponder something

then... Poof,

The accurate background informs us !!!

Mr.JA1 is a Wikipedia or Audiopedia or even a Stereophedia to our Canadian friends.

Tony in Venice

ps. I just gotta say that our beloved Steve G the Audiophiliac is interviewing Rachel from Grant Fidelity, a Chinese Lady explaining the complex China Marketplace.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on November 14, 2019 - 4:57pm

Steve G pointed me at this Headphone back in 2011, long after it's being discontinued. It remains a better transducer than any "ANY" Loudspeaker Transducer system I've ever heard. ( of course, I haven't heard em all but I've certainly owned any dam loudspeaker I wanted. )

Still, did we have Superb Asgard 2 type headphone amplification in 1994 ?

In 1994, I probably would've nominated the LP12 & LS3/5a. Both are enduring greats !!!

Tony in Venice

ps. maybe even a pair of Linn Kans and matching stands , MIT 750 Music Hose & any Koetsu .

Staxguy's picture
Submitted by Staxguy on November 15, 2019 - 2:08am

It would be interesting to compare the top loudspeaker of this period, or say, the Dunlavy V.I. with the Wilson Chronosonic of today.

Allen Fant's picture
Submitted by Allen Fant on November 15, 2019 - 5:51am

I trip back in time! J.A.

I still have this issue and had celebrated my 1st year as a subscriber (1993 to Present Date).

Robin Landseadel's picture
Submitted by Robin Landseadel on November 15, 2019 - 7:36am

"The Vendetta is the odd man out, no longer being in production since the Berkeley fire destroyed designer John Curl's stock of parts and boards. (John Curl is offering Type C and D (diode) upgrades to present owners for $500 and $250, respectively.) It was available for nomination because it keeps on popping up its head in reviews as Stereophile's reference phono preamplifier."

I remember when it happened. I was making marble paper in the backyard, looked over my shoulder, saw this huge plume of smoke coming out of the hills.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 15, 2019 - 11:09am

... how many buyers decided that the $1800 Arcam Delta 100 cassette deck (with its Denon sourced mechanism) was a better choice than the similarly priced Nakamichi CR-7A?
Or, if you simply had to have Dolby S, then either the significantly less expensive TEAC V-8000S or the Sony TC-K909ES.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 15, 2019 - 12:36pm

May be those buyers played 'Guardians of the Galaxy' mix-tape and decided that Arcam cassette deck sounded the best :-) ........

jimtavegia's picture
Submitted by jimtavegia on November 16, 2019 - 7:29am

I have been playing around with my old Denon deck and it always surprises me when I do. I recorded a Helene Grimaud stream concert last week on both my Tascam DR-2d at 2496 and on the Denon and enjoyed them both as I doubt the stream was a high bit rate, but enjoyed it. I sure enjoy Ms. Grimaud's playing and the Phildelphia Orchestra is great. Miss the days the FM taping.

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